Much of the workforce has had to transition from the office to home in recent weeks. When you’re not used to working from home, the lines between designated work hours and personal time can get pretty blurred. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to create a work-life balance at home just as you would working in an office. Here are a few tips on making sure that working from home doesn’t mean you’re always on the clock.
Work-Life Balance Tips
1. Dedicated Space
Your current space may not provide for an entire room to be dedicated as an office, but you should designate a specific spot for you to use while working from home. When you move around working in different places, it makes your entire home seem like an office. If you keep your work to one specific place, you can more easily maintain a work-life balance. Even if you’re reserving your workspace at the kitchen table or one chair in the living room, make sure that is the place in which you decide to get work done. Once you’re done for the day, “leave the office” and don’t return until it’s time to start your workday once again. While working in bed does have its advantages, if you’re not accustomed to working from home, you might lose motivation.
2. Specific Schedule
Work-life balance, whether in the office or at home, can be challenging. That’s why setting a specific schedule in either venue is important. When you’re working from home, it’s much easier to get roped into answering “just one email” at all hours of the day and night. You must maintain a separation in work and home just as you would if you were still working in an office. Constantly being “on” for work while you’re at home can wear you down over time. Even if we’re all stuck together at home, we don’t have to be stuck together working. Set specific hours, inform your colleagues, and stick to your schedule.
3. Be Efficient
It takes discipline to work from home full time. Staying focused on efficiency not only keeps you on task but helps create a better work-life balance while working from home. Even with a specific schedule, sometimes the day can get away from us. If we get up to take a break, switching a load of laundry might turn into spring cleaning our closet. In order to avoid a lot of wasted time, make sure you’ve set out what you need to accomplish for the day and focus on your goals.
4. Take Breaks
Having a set schedule and abiding by those hours is key, but you still need to take quick breaks throughout the day. The general rule is to work for 50 minutes, break for 10 minutes just to give your body and mind a chance to refocus. When we stay intensely focused on a task for a long period of time, we actually become less productive and efficient. So remember to get up and take periodic breaks.
Working from home may be new for many, but it doesn’t have to mean a total upheaval in your typical workday schedule. With a few adjustments, you can maintain a healthy work-life balance from home, too.
Reinhold Residential is here and ready to help during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. For current residents, we are here to serve your immediate needs and our maintenance and janitorial teams are working to ensure our apartment communities remain clean and safe.
For prospective residents looking to find a new home, our leasing agents are available to provide virtual apartment tours and FaceTime tours of our properties. Visit Reinhold Residential’s properties to learn more.